BG Reads | News - September 13, 2022
[HEARINGS AND MEETINGS]
Tuesday (9.13)
Thursday (9.15)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Preservation leaders show concern over delay in Sixth Street historic district (Austin Monitor)
The push to designate the East Sixth Street entertainment district as a city historic district has been postponed, with Council Member Kathie Tovo opting to wait for proposed new designed guidelines for properties that could be reconstructed as part of an ambitious redevelopment effort.
Tovo pulled a resolution at the Sept. 1 City Council meeting that would have initiated the process for creating the historic designation, leaving staff working on language for a separate building code amendment that would allow increased building heights on two sections of the street.
The moves are related to Stream Realty Partners’ plan to bring new businesses and daytime activity to the mostly late-night district by building a hotel and office building on the north side of the two blocks separated by Red River Street. That would require the demolition of sections of those blocks, though Stream representatives have said they want to make more modest improvements and re-tenant the rest of the 30-plus properties the company has acquired in recent years.
Council voted earlier this summer to have staff begin the work related to a change on the zoning overlay regarding building height,?with new design guidelines included as part of that work. The district already has a national historic designation.
“If there is intent to protect the historic integrity, which I hope there is with this historic district, we’re going to need some tools for doing so, especially if the tool that is currently in place, the height restriction and setback restriction, is being modified,” Tovo said…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Celia Israel needs help in Austin mayor's race; where's the PAC? (Austin American-Statesman)
An Austin mayor candidate by law can accept from an individual donor a maximum of $450, which makes it difficult to launch a robust campaign needed to reach hundreds of thousands of voters.
So some candidates get help from political action committees, which are not bound by a donation limit and can have a greater impact.
That was thought to be the strategy for mayoral candidate Celia Israel, who in announcing her campaign in January made clear she probably needed $1 million to win and that, because she makes modest income as a real estate agent and a Texas state representative, she wouldn't have money of her own to contribute.
But eight months later, with the calendar creeping closer to the start of early voting on Oct. 24, Israel is not yet connected to a political action committee. That has sparked concerns from her supporters about whether a PAC will eventually surface, as signs continue to point to Israel lagging behind in a race most prognosticators are calling for Kirk Watson…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
GM's Cruise robotaxi unit to offer driverless rides in Phoenix, Austin this year (Reuters)
General Motors'?(GM.N)?self-driving technology unit Cruise plans to expand its driverless ride service to include Phoenix, Arizona, and Austin, Texas, in 90 days, Cruise Chief Executive Kyle Vogt said on Monday.
Speaking at a Goldman Sachs conference, Vogt also said the loss-making Cruise unit aims to hit $1 billion in revenue by 2025 - or half its current level of annual investment from GM.
In June, Cruise started charging for self-driving car rides in San Francisco at night, using Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles. Cruise operated as many as 70 driverless AVs concurrently in San Francisco, and plans to double or triple the number by the end of the year, Vogt said…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Win or draw Wednesday, Austin FC will make the MLS playoffs (KXAN)
The past three times on the pitch, Austin FC has squandered chances to qualify for the club’s first-ever playoff appearance, getting outscored 8-1 in the process.
Verde comes home after two road matches, and with a win or a draw Wednesday against Real Salt Lake, they can finally call themselves a playoff team.
Gone are Austin FC’s chances at the Supporters’ Shield, but since they had such a big lead over the rest of the Western Conference in second place, they are still in that position even after three consecutive losses. However, FC Dallas is lurking two points behind and Austin can’t risk further harm if they want to host multiple playoff games. They need to beat Real Salt Lake…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
East Austin could get badly needed affordable housing (Austin Business Journal)
A developer is looking for partners to help it build more affordable housing in East Austin.
领英推荐
GMJ Real Estate Investments, or The Geyser Group, hopes to build 250 apartments on two acres at 2900 Oak Springs Dr. Half of that would be affordable to take advantage of Austin's Affordability Unlocked Development Bonus Program, said?Dick Hall, managing director at The Geyser Group.
The project is still in the early planning phases, Hall said, but for now the plan is to include studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments that range from 450 to 1,100 square feet. The gross square footage would be around 200,000 square feet.
Manhard Consulting Ltd. will be civil engineer on the project, and Geyser is still searching for an architect of record and builder.
Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2024, which Hall called an “aggressive timeline based on the way things are going in Austin right now." Construction is expected to last 12 to 15 months. Currently on the property is an industrial building built in 1961, according to Travis Central Appraisal District…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
In Texas youth prisons, children trapped in their cells use water bottles and lunch trays for toilets (Texas Tribune)
Throughout this summer, children in Texas’ youth prison system have repeatedly been trapped in their cells, forced to urinate in water bottles and defecate on the floor.
For months, children in at least two of five state lockups reported regularly lacking access to toilets as the Texas Juvenile Justice Department’s workforce?shrunk below dangerous levels. Calls for immediate action by juvenile justice advocates and?dozens of lawmakers?to address the crisis have largely gone unanswered by Gov.?Greg Abbott.
Last month, the governor’s office said the safety of staff and youth at TJJD was a top priority for him, touted the agency’s recent pay raise — funded largely by agency officials siphoning cash from the plethora of vacant officer positions — and promised to support further salary boosts during next year’s legislative session. His office did not immediately respond to questions for this story…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Gov. Greg Abbott, Beto O’Rourke battle over state of fledgling broadband expansion (Houston Chronicle)
Gov. Greg Abbott was in Laredo last week touting his efforts to get the roughly 7 million Texans without broadband access online, something he deemed an emergency item in the last legislative session. "No matter what corner of the state of Texas you may live in, you will have access to fast, reliable internet," the governor said, promoting a $500 million investment of federal COVID funds the state plans to put toward broadband expansion and a new state office overseeing that expansion. “The future of business in Texas is online, and in Texas, we are now bringing that future to absolutely everyone.” But Abbott’s Democratic challenger, Beto O'Rourke, has been hammering him for vetoing a bill that would have shored up state funding used to build and maintain phone lines that carry broadband service in rural areas. O’Rourke blamed the veto for phone bills jumping by as much as $4.61 in August for some rural Texans.
“This guy has left you high and dry,” O'Rourke told a crowd in Lubbock. “He’s taking you for granted. He thinks your votes are in the bank.” The political sparring underscores how tenuous the state of broadband remains in Texas, where some 2.8 million homes do not have access to high-speed internet, according to the comptroller’s office. State officials are gearing up for a massive, federally funded buildout of the service, but have not figured out how to fund it in the long run. Texas is on tap to receive $500 million from the American Rescue Plan and as much as $4 billion through the bipartisan infrastructure law, though the actual amount has yet to be determined. It’s also unclear how many homes the federal funding will be able to get online. By some estimates, it could cost as much as $15 billion to get every home connected to high-quality fiber networks. The Legislature has created the Broadband Development Office to oversee the expansion and appropriated $5 million to the comptroller, where the office is housed…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Pressure mounts on US railroads and unions to reach a deal (Associated Press)
Freight railroads and their unions are facing increasing pressure from business groups and the White House to settle their contract dispute before Friday’s looming strike deadline.
The pressure stems from concerns that halting railroad deliveries of raw materials and finished products that so many companies rely on would be, in the words of the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, an “economic disaster.”
A White House official said President Joe Biden and members of his cabinet were in touch with the unions and railroads Monday as part of their efforts to avert a strike. And for the second time in the past week, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh sat down at the negotiating table Sunday to urge the parties to reach a deal. Walsh postponed a planned to trip to Ireland this week to remain close to the talks.
A Labor Department spokesperson said Monday that it’s crucial that the parties remain at the negotiating table and come to an agreement because “a shutdown of our freight rail system is an unacceptable outcome for our economy and the American people.”…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[BG PODCAST]
Today's episode (165) features Taylor O'Neil, CEO of Richard's Rainwater.
Headquartered in Austin, Richard's Rainwater is the U.S. leader in capturing and bottling pure rainwater, and is the nation’s first FDA approved cloud-to-bottle company.
He and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discuss Richard's history, the rain harvesting process, water supply and conservation, and regulatory hurdles in the industry.
Taylor is also a fellow Wake Forest University alum (Go Deacs!). ->?EPISODE LINK
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